IIM Ahmedabad Cutoffs and Shortlist Criteria for CAT 2026

SEO promise: Understand the latest official IIM Ahmedabad PGP shortlist criteria, including CAT percentile cutoffs, application rating, composite score, and fee caveats.

Evidence note: Refresh CAT notification details from the official IIM CAT site during the annual update pass. Where this draft uses CAT 2025 or institute criteria, it says so directly.

A 99 percentile CAT score is not the same thing as an IIM Ahmedabad shortlist. The latest official IIMA PGP criteria use minimum CAT percentile cutoffs, positive raw-score conditions, academic/application ratings, and a composite score. For CAT 2026 aspirants, the right reading is to use the latest official IIMA criteria as a labelled reference point instead of treating the next cycle as final before it is published.

Latest official scope - PGP 2026-28 uses CAT 2025, not CAT 2026

Takeaway: Use the latest official criteria as a reference point and recheck when IIMA posts the next batch criteria.

IIM Ahmedabad states that selection for the PGP 2026-28 batch is through CAT 2025 and follows a two-step process: shortlisting for AWT/PI and subsequent selection [1]. A CAT 2026 article should therefore say: latest available IIMA criteria, not final CAT 2026 criteria. That single wording change prevents a future-fact error.

Section anchor: 1 batch label on every criterion.

Preliminary CAT cutoffs - 95/85 for General and EWS

Takeaway: The published cutoffs are minimum consideration filters, not admission guarantees.

For the latest official IIMA PGP criteria, the General/EWS preliminary threshold is 95 overall percentile and 85 sectional percentile. NC-OBC is 90 overall and 80 sectional. SC is 85 overall and 75 sectional. ST is 75 overall and 65 sectional. PwD thresholds are lower by category. IIMA also requires a positive raw score in all three CAT sections [1].

Category	Overall percentile	Sectional percentile
General / EWS	95	85
NC-OBC	90	80
SC	85	75
ST	75	65

Section anchor: 4 category rows.

Composite score - 35% application rating and 65% CAT at shortlist stage

Takeaway: IIMA’s official shortlist composite score is not a CAT-only ranking.

At the shortlisting stage, IIMA defines the composite score as ARF_CS multiplied by normalized Application Rating plus CATF_CS multiplied by normalized overall CAT score. The latest official factors are 0.35 for Application Rating and 0.65 for CAT [1].

$$CS = 0.35 \times AR_{norm} + 0.65 \times CAT_{norm}$$

Section anchor: 0.35 + 0.65 formula.

Application Rating - academics and profile can move the shortlist

Takeaway: Aspirants should calculate risk by profile, not by CAT percentile alone.

IIMA’s Application Rating uses prior academic performance, discipline categories, work experience, and a gender diversity score in the latest criteria. The exact tables are long and should not be paraphrased loosely. Link to the official page and show only the high-level structure unless the article includes the full official table.

Section anchor: 5 AR components named.

Fees and placements - keep the claims separate

Takeaway: Do not label a future-batch fee or an unsourced placement median as official.

IIMA lists the programme fee as INR 27,50,000 for the PGP 2025-27 batch and says future-batch fees will be announced later [1]. The placement page explains internships and final placement process; it is safer to describe process from the official page and link to audited IPRS reports for compensation figures, rather than using unsourced salary snapshots [2].

Section anchor: INR 27.5 lakh applies to PGP 2025-27.

How to use the criteria - 3 numbers to track

Takeaway: Track sectional percentile safety, overall percentile, and profile risk together.

The practical planner is a three-number dashboard: lowest sectional mock percentile, overall mock percentile, and profile-risk flag from academics/work experience. If one section falls below the safety band, additional overall marks do not repair that institute-specific risk.

Section anchor: 3-number shortlist dashboard.

FAQs

Is the IIM Ahmedabad cutoff enough for admission?

No. The published percentile cutoffs are minimum filters for consideration, not final admission cutoffs.

Does IIMA use only CAT score for shortlisting?

No. The latest official shortlist composite score combines normalized Application Rating and normalized CAT score.

Can I use the 2025-27 fee for 2026-28?

No. State it as the PGP 2025-27 fee and note that future fees are announced later.

Conclusion

Before relying on an IIMA cutoff article, check 4 fields: batch label, CAT year, preliminary cutoff table, and composite-score formula. The page should show a visible last-checked date.

References

[1] Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, "Admission - MBA: Indian candidates, PGP 2026-28 selection criteria," 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.iima.ac.in/academics/mba/admissions/indians. Accessed: Jun. 14, 2026.

[2] Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, "MBA career and placements," 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.iima.ac.in/academics/mba/career. Accessed: Jun. 14, 2026.

[3] National Institutional Ranking Framework, Ministry of Education, "India Rankings 2025: Management," 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.nirfindia.org/Rankings/2025/ManagementRanking.html. Accessed: Jun. 14, 2026.

[4] Indian Institutes of Management, "CAT official website," 2025. [Online]. Available: https://iimcat.ac.in/. Accessed: Jun. 14, 2026.

[5] Times of India Education, "CAT 2025 result reporting and candidate pool," 2025. [Online]. Available: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/education/news. Accessed: Jun. 14, 2026.

[6] IMS India, "IIM cutoffs and admission criteria," 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.imsindia.com/blog/cat/iim-call-cut-off/. Accessed: Jun. 14, 2026.

[7] InsideIIM, "CAT preparation and admission analysis," 2025. [Online]. Available: https://insideiim.com/. Accessed: Jun. 14, 2026.

[8] Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, "IIMA audited placement reports," 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.iima.ac.in/academics/mba/career/placement-reports. Accessed: Jun. 14, 2026.

[9] MBAUniverse, "CAT score vs percentile analysis," 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.mbauniverse.com/articles/cat-score-vs-percentile. Accessed: Jun. 14, 2026.

[10] Career Launcher, "CAT marks vs percentile," 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.careerlauncher.com/cat-mba/cat-marks-vs-percentile/. Accessed: Jun. 14, 2026.

[11] 2IIM, "CAT score calculator and score-vs-percentile estimates," 2025. [Online]. Available: https://online.2iim.com/CAT-score-calculator/. Accessed: Jun. 14, 2026.